The temperature in Central Park hovered above 80.\u00a0 The hearty dog roses are still going strong, and the more delicate pink variety, like the gay divorcee, was enjoy a second spring.\u00a0 Little fuzzy fingers of magnolia pointed to the sun.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The cowboy nodded me to my spot; he was playing \u201cCrackling Rosie.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
To my right a half dozen teenagers were crowded around the one who held the cardboard sign for Jesus.\u00a0 Another kid walked by me with a soprano ukulele in a cloth case.\u00a0 \u201cWhatcha got there?\u201d said I.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
We talked uke.\u00a0 He told me he was a beginner, and that he played \u201cworship\u201d music.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s great,\u201d I said, \u201cjust not here, not while I\u2019m here.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cAloha.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
An early teen made the first donation of the day, a pocketful of change, mostly dimes.\u00a0 A mom with her own early teen daughters did the hula while the girls pretended they didn\u2019t know her.\u00a0 There was a Spaniard who talked about movies, and reminisced about his village cinema.\u00a0 An Englishman gave me a dollar for a photo.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A long, ragged line of school girls, dressed in plaid jumpers and white shirts with round collars, had earlier made their way down the path from the boathouse and around the fountain.\u00a0 They returned just as I finished my set.\u00a0 \u201cHas this group got time for a hula today?\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The woman at the head of the line turned to a teacher behind her.\u00a0 The teacher assented and I was rushed by the uniformed mob.\u00a0 They kicked over my solar girls and grabbed the leis out of my hand.\u00a0 I organized them as well as possible; soon the 1st<\/sup> graders of the Hewitt School were dancing their way to the hukilau.\u00a0 I had to sing the song 3 times before every girl got a chance to wear a lei.\u00a0 Afterward, I discovered 2 of the leis had been torn to shreds.\u00a0 Some of the girls picked up the loose paper petals, stuffed them into a Coca Cola bottle cap and sent them sailing over the fountain waters.\u00a0 If any of the adults made a contribution, I missed it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"